June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil will win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, according
to 171 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, May 29 to June 6. Fifty-seven
percent of economists placed Brazil in first place when asked to rank
their top four teams. Seven percent of economists expect Spain, the 2010
World Cup champion, to win. Brazil is placed third in FIFA’s rankings,
published on June 5, behind Spain and Germany. The tournaments host
nation will also score the most goals, according to 44 percent of
economists, topping Argentina and Spain.

Goldman Sachs, Danske Bank, and Unicredit all crunched data to predict
Brazil will beat Argentina in next month’s final, and U.K. bookmaker
Paddy Power Plc rates Brazil the 3-1 favorite, with Argentina close behind
as a 4-1 favorite. A data driven model created by Bloomberg Sports
sees Brazil beating Spain in the final. The World Cup begins on June
12 with Brazil playing Croatia in the opening match, and ends July 13 with
a final taking place at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

NOTE: Weighted points were calculated by assigning 10 points to the first
place choice, 7.5 points to the second place choice, 4 points to the third
place choice, and 1 point to the fourth place choice.
NOTE: Number in parentheses indicate number of previous World Cup victories
NOTE: The survey contains responses from 171 economists in 139 firms across
52 countries